OUR TEAM
Australian Opal Centre Ltd - Board of Directors
Chair
Raymond Griffin is an experienced director, non-executive director and Chair, with extensive financial planning sector expertise and board experience in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors…
Director
Carolyn Childs co-founded MyTravelResearch.com to help organisations across the visitor economy achieve their goals by making insight an accessible foundation for decision-making. Her career spans 30 years and 35+ countries…
Director
Paul Dale is a geoscientist, explorer and director with skills developed in private mining and services companies, the public sector, and not-for-profit organisations…
Director
Welcome to Lynne Jenkins, former Secretary of Lightning Ridge Opal and Fossil Centre Inc. and now Non-executive Director of AOC Ltd.
Director
Brigadier Darren Naumann (retd) is Infrastructure Advisor to the AOC and serves on the AOC Building Subcommittee. Darren brings a wealth of infrastructure delivery experience from his management of Australia’s multi-billion dollar Defence national capital facilities program, and 36 years in leadership, management, engineering and project, program, and portfolio management…
Director
Mark Wilsdon has 30 years of experience in the museum, cultural tourism and hospitality sectors. He is committed to exceptional cultural tourism experiences, hospitality, customer experience and community development. These interests have driven him to establish businesses that create value for regions, staff and importantly, that deliver financial sustainability…
Staff
Chief Executive Officer
Jenni Brammall was Manager of the Australian Opal Centre / Lightning Ridge Opal and Fossil Centre from 2004 until early 2019, overseeing its development from an idea to a substantial reality, and from reliance on local government seed funding to being a self-funding, nationally significant not-for-profit entity. In 2019-2021 Jenni was the AOC’s Special Projects Officer and from 2022, its Chief Executive Officer…
General Manager Operations
Donna Lund has lived in Lightning Ridge for 27 years and has been involved with opal industry activities throughout that time. She has worked in part-time roles with the LROFC for 15 years, as LROFC Office Manager from 2007 - 2009 and as LROFC’s membership officer, administering memberships and membership records…
Showroom Coordinator
Teresa Cree oversees the AOC’s public exhibition space and museum shop, and coordinates the volunteer team who staff the showroom, SPARK cinema under the stars, and programs for visiting groups…
Honorary Advisors
Scientific Advisor - Opal (Honorary)
Tony Smallwood is a jewellery valuer, gemmologist and opal expert who has been involved in opal education and research for more than 30 years…
Technical Coordinator (Honorary)
Sherri Donaldson has an extensive career in training, technical writing and IT consultancy. She has delivered to clients throughout the UK, Europe and Africa, working in high risk onshore and offshore environments managing, designing and delivering IT training projects, technical and procedural writing, and information and knowledge management. She is skilled at working with large datasets, and is process focussed with a meticulous eye for detail…